Bay Health Foundation appoints new member CountyCommissionapproval in question

By By MATTHEW BEATON/The News Herald

Published: Monday, February 25, 2013 at 07:57 PM.

PANAMA CITY— The Bay Health Foundation is sending another board appointment to the County Commission, but the question of approval remains.

The foundation voted unanimously Monday to appoint Olivia Cooley, 63, of Panama City, to its nine-member board, which has one seat open. Cooley served on the foundation’s grants committee and is a former member of Gulf Coast State College’s Board of Trustees. She also has been active in philanthropy efforts around town, including being a member of the Byrd Family Foundation.

The County Commission must approve all foundation appointments, which could be problematic, as the two boards have locked horns over the open seat. The commission has requested one of its members get the seat, but the foundation has not obliged.

At Monday’s meeting, the foundation made no mention of the commission when it voted on Cooley. Later, however, Chairman Don Connor brought up the foundation’s offer to the commission, an ex officio non-voting member position. That was proffered in January, but the commission has given no formal yes or no on whether it will take it.

Readingfrom his notes, Connor said Monday the board offered the county the position on a unanimous vote. It would have all the privileges of a regular member, only the commissioner would not vote, he said.

“The reason most often given by the County Commission, publicly and privately, for [wanting] a seat on the board is to get information on what happens in a timely fashion,” he said.

Connor said an ex officio position accomplishes that, but it wouldn’t be subject to the Sunshine Law, which dictates how government boards and public officials must behave. One concern that’s been raised is if a commissioner serves on the foundation, as a voting member, he would not be able to discuss foundation business with the board members outside of public meetings.

PANAMA CITY— The Bay Health Foundation is sending another board appointment to the County Commission, but the question of approval remains.

The foundation voted unanimously Monday to appoint Olivia Cooley, 63, of Panama City, to its nine-member board, which has one seat open. Cooley served on the foundation’s grants committee and is a former member of Gulf Coast State College’s Board of Trustees. She also has been active in philanthropy efforts around town, including being a member of the Byrd Family Foundation.

The County Commission must approve all foundation appointments, which could be problematic, as the two boards have locked horns over the open seat. The commission has requested one of its members get the seat, but the foundation has not obliged.

At Monday’s meeting, the foundation made no mention of the commission when it voted on Cooley. Later, however, Chairman Don Connor brought up the foundation’s offer to the commission, an ex officio non-voting member position. That was proffered in January, but the commission has given no formal yes or no on whether it will take it.

Readingfrom his notes, Connor said Monday the board offered the county the position on a unanimous vote. It would have all the privileges of a regular member, only the commissioner would not vote, he said.

“The reason most often given by the County Commission, publicly and privately, for [wanting] a seat on the board is to get information on what happens in a timely fashion,” he said.

Connor said an ex officio position accomplishes that, but it wouldn’t be subject to the Sunshine Law, which dictates how government boards and public officials must behave. One concern that’s been raised is if a commissioner serves on the foundation, as a voting member, he would not be able to discuss foundation business with the board members outside of public meetings.

He added, “So I just want you to know that that’s still on the table and has nothing to do with what we did today.”

Options

The commission has the option to approve Cooley and take some official action on the ex officio offer at its March 5 meeting, but it may defer action.

The commission has said it wants clarification on whether the county has any liability under the foundation. Since Bay Medical Center (BMC) went private through a 40-year lease to LHP Hospital Group and Sacred Heart Health System, the foundation oversees the hospital’s employee pension fund, the lease and capital disbursements from the lease.

Commissioners have said if the county has no liability, they aren’t interested in the seat; the commission still is waiting for a legal opinion from outside counsel.

Commissioner Guy Tunnell has pushed the hardest for the seat and isn’t ready to vote on Cooley untilhe knows the county’s liability. “Personally I’d rather wait until we get a definite response from” outside legal counsel, he said in an interview.

And Tunnell has little interest in the ex officio position. He said a full voting position would give the commission more input.

“I wonder what benefit that would be — to have an ex officio position on this board. I just don’t know how effective that would be,” he said.

Tunnell said he was frustrated and didn’t know why the commission was getting “pushback” from the foundation.

“Apparently there’s not a lot of concern right now about the County Commission’s wishes, or we would have already resolved this. … We need a member on there sooner rather than later, and we just seem to be beating around the bush here,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that we’ve all dug our heels in, and we can’t get this thing resolved.”

In other business Monday:

lBMC’s interim CEO Jan Offret said sequestration, the federal budget cuts scheduled to hit Friday, will be devastating. It means a 2 percent reduction in Medicare reimbursements to the hospital, a $1.5 million cost, which was not budgeted for.

lOffret, who started last week as interim CEO, updated the foundation on the search for a new CEO. She said the goal is to make the hire by June.

lThe foundation was told by BMC staff the hospital failed to meet its budget last year and lost money, but no dollar was given. BMC would not comment to The News Herald on how much money was lost.

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